A Thin Line
by MioneAttack
Summary: AU. Draco is the leader of F4, a group of boys who basically run the school. Hermione is a muggle-born who's managed to get the grades to transfer in for her sixth year. What happens when their worlds collide and Hermione is faced with her hardest test yet; a rich, stuck up bully? DM/HG/TN (based on Boys Over Flowers.) Rated M for later chapters.


Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or Boys Over Flowers and I have no intentions to make any money. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

**Summary: AU. In a world where Hogwarts is nearly impossible to attend as a child, and literally impossible to transfer into at any point after that, Hermione has managed to get the grades to break this record and is allowed in for her sixth year. Graduating from Hogwarts is the automatic key to success for any young witch or wizard, however the students are under the mercy of Draco Malfoy and his group of three friends everyone likes to call F4. What happens when Hermione is faced against her biggest challenge yet; a rich, stuck up bully who is dead set on making her life a living hell? (Draco Malfoy|Hermione Granger|Theodore Nott love triangle based off of Boys Over Flowers/Hana Yori Dango by Kamio Youko.)**

_Warning: This is a fanfiction set in the world of Harry Potter based upon the manga/dramas Boys Over Flowers. This story has been done in many different forms and if you haven't seen the drama, I highly recommend you look into it. I will do my best to incorporate what I can from every version and I'm sure fans of Boys Over Flowers will be able to catch each one. As stated above this is an AU fanfic, meaning some elements of the world have been changed to suit the story, this includes house changes for certain students, as well as added elements to the original Boys Over Flowers concept. I don't think it is that big of a deal, but I wanted to let everyone know, as I'm sure many people are actually attached to where certain students were placed. If you're fine with these sort of changes, continue reading as usual. Thanks for showing interest and I hope you enjoy my take on this very popular story. _

A Thin Line 

**Chapter One-The Bad Beginning.**

SIX MONTHS AGO-

_The young boy dressed slowly, his entire body shaking as he buttoned up his uniform top. His breath was escaping in quick shallow gasps and his heart pounded within the cavern of his chest, threatening to break through from his overwhelming fear. He wasn't sure if he could withstand another day of this torture, most students couldn't even survive a few hours. Should he have followed suit and just dropped out like the others who were targeted? He had to get out somehow, if he didn't they might just kill him. He pulled his robe over his body, shaking his head and reprimanding himself for what seemed like the thousandth time. 'Why the hell couldn't you just listen? Just stick to yourself and stay quiet? It isn't that difficult, don't piss Draco Malfoy off, that's what everyone told you, but did you listen? Of course not!' He had half a mind to slam his camera to the ground, but it was like an extension of him, even if it was what got him into this mess. _

_Colin pushed the bathroom door open, and let out a relieved sigh, his dorm mates seemed to have already left. He was shocked they even allowed him to sleep with them, most people who got the mark weren't allowed that courtesy, but he had known them for years and they had gone soft on him. They still knew better than to speak to him in the corridors or during class however. He walked past the empty beds and gathered his courage before entering the common room. The teenager kept his eyes trained on the ground, he didn't need to look up to know that anyone who was there was looking at him. Colin could hear the soft whispers as he walked his way passed his peers who were debating about what he could have possibly done to get the mark. Talking about how shocked they were he had lasted this long. Making bets about how much longer he could survive. No doubt they were all staring at the skull and crossbone symbol that floated and spun above his head. He had tried in vain to get it to go away, but no one had ever succeeded in removing it. Once you were targeted, no one could make it go away but Malfoy himself, and that never happened. Once you were targeted you were free game for the whole school and they didn't hold back. To think, for the past few years he had been one of these people, just sitting around and watching while others were terrorized. How could he expect anyone to help him now when he'd ignored so many others? _

_He continued forward with his head down, his heart pounding, waiting for the first person to strike. It didn't take very long, right before he stepped through the portrait hole something solid collided with the side of his head, knocking him off balance, cracking as it made contact and oozing down the side of his face. Before Colin even knew what was happening a barrage of eggs were thrown at him from all directions. His fellow students laughed viciously as they attacked him and it took a moment for him to compose himself once more and run through the portrait hole with them close on his heels. He could hear the footsteps catching up with him and he turned the corner, trying his best to escape, but knowing there really was no hope. His body collided with a taller figure and he was thrown back. A Ravenclaw student smirked at him, and violently lifted him from the ground with a quick flick of his wand, trapping his arms behind his back and holding him still despite his best efforts to pull away, allowing his attackers to catch up. Before he could brace himself, a fist was rammed into his stomach at full strength, knocking the air right out of him and causing him to topple over. A hand violently tugged at his long wavy hair, forcing his face upward and an uppercut slammed right into his chin, followed by a quick jab to his temple. It wasn't long before everything went black..._

_This wasn't a school. It was Hell. _

THE PRESENT-

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Hermione." The overworked woman said matter-of-factly, looking down at her daughter as they entered King's Cross station. Her heels clacked across the tiled floors and Hermione Granger's trunk rattled across its gaps. "You said it yourself. We've been having this discussion since you got your letter, any other person your age would be ecstatic. I'm not from your world and I will admit I don't know how everything works, but even I know that this was something everyone thought to be impossible." The bushy haired teenager stopped walking and sucked in a deep breath, causing her mom to stop as well and turn around to face her. The woman cupped her daughter's cheek and stared into her eyes for a moment, sighing lovingly and brushing her thick hair away from her face. Hermione knew she didn't have to say a word, there was nothing she could say now that she hadn't said before. The witch wasn't so sure she wanted to go to school where most of them were a bunch of rich stuck up snobs or whose families were so pure it was almost incestuous. She didn't want things to change from the way they were. Who cared if it was more convenient, or the opportunity of a lifetime, or the road to guaranteed success? She was a smart girl, she was bound to have a future no matter where she went to school, right?

"I know you're scared," her mother finally began to speak once more, cutting off her train of thought. "But this is the best school for magic in the whole world and you've been personally asked to transfer in. You have the best grades, you deserve the best." Hermione sighed and nodded her head. There was no use arguing, she'd already accepted the invitation and everything was said and done. Besides, she couldn't back out now, not after all the money her parents had spent to get her situated, knowing they were already struggling so much.

"I know..." she replied, and Mrs. Granger took that as a cue to continue walking forward.

"Where did they say it was again?" The older woman asked, looking about the station.

"Nine and three quarters," Hermione answered. "Between platforms nine and ten."

Mrs. Granger nodded and sped up her pace. "Oh, right. I'm so happy. This is so much more convenient than what you had to do to get to your old school." Nothing really surprised the woman anymore, she wasn't exactly new to the world her daughter had become a part of. Six years ago she would have called her daughter nutters for saying a platform nine and three quarters even existed, but she had seen more fantastical things over the course of Hermione's life. Shopping at Diagon Alley must have been second nature to her now. They stopped in front of the white tiled wall and looked at each other and then back at it, not completely sure what to do.

"And you're sure the letter said to walk through the wall?" Hermione's mother asked, prompting the younger girl to dig into the pocket of her jumper and pull out a piece of yellow parchment. Her eyes scanned the length of the paper and she nodded, swallowing a large lump that was in her throat.

"Well, here goes," The young Granger croaked, taking in a deep breath and grasping her mother's hand tight. "We'll go in on three," her mother nodded in agreement. "One. Two. Three!" She said in a half shout as they quickly leaped forward, eyes shut as tight as they could go.

When they landed, the two women allowed their eyes to slowly flutter open and their grip upon one each other's hands loosened. They had thankfully landed safely on the other side of the wall. The sound of a steam engine and the fumes from the train enveloped the atmosphere. Hermione's eyes widened in awe and she saw that her mother was just as amazed. Of course, she had read about the Hogwart's Express, there probably wasn't a thing in the world that Hermione hadn't read about but she could have never imagined it to be so wonderful in all of her wildest dreams. She released a great sigh of relief as other witches and wizards passed them by, thinking to herself that perhaps this wasn't a terrible mistake after all.

They headed towards the edge of the platform and the train just in time for Hermione to board. It would be leaving the station in just a few moments, allowing her the perfect window to get situated but not so early that she would be waiting alone for very long. Somehow the Grangers were always sensibly punctual, it must have been a hereditary trait. She climbed the steps and turned around to face her mother, doing her very best to conceal her trembling.

"I'm going to leave now, okay honey?" Hermione straightened her back and nodded. She was a strong girl who always held her ground, there was no need to worry her mother over something so trivial as nerves. In reality she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and run as far away as she could but that would get them nowhere. It was just a new environment, a new place to learn about and she loved to learn. So far everything had gone smoothly, she had found the train alright, it was beautiful, the students looked no different than the one's from her old school, except perhaps a bit more clique-ish and much more well off than her old friends. It was all the same...but why did she feel so on edge about everything? She smiled at her mother and saluted her.

"You know me, there's nothing I can't do. I'll be fine on my own. Besides the train is leaving soon and you have to get to work."

Mrs. Granger grinned back lovingly, "And you're quite sure you'll be alright?" The woman always had to double check, but Hermione wished that she wouldn't, it only made her more nervous. It was giving her time to change her mind. She swallowed the mass in her throat that just didn't seem to want to go away.

"Hmmhmm!" She answered quickly with another nod of her head. "Go!" Hermione ordered her mother, before tugging her trunk up the stairs.

"I love you," her mother called out, blowing the teenager a kiss.

"I love you!" Hermione yelled back, turning and making her way into the train.

The muggle-born gasped and big brown orbs darted about the train corridor. It was the most elaborate and extravagant vehicle she had ever traveled on, the pictures had not done it justice. There was no mistaking that this was made by the magical elite, for the magical elite. She passed by booths of students eating the most expensive food, things she probably couldn't imagine affording no matter how hard she worked and continued walking until she found one that was completely empty. Hermione lifted her trunk and tossed it into the overhead, smoothing down her uniform and taking a seat. She could still see people saying their goodbyes on the platform, but it seemed as though they would be heading off soon. Hermione pulled a rather large book out of her bag and opened it to about the middle. She probably shouldn't have already been halfway through her school books, but she liked to have a head's up on what the lessons would be. The young woman didn't take too kindly to surprises. Just as she found herself engulfed in a rather interesting article regarding the Manticore, the door to her booth burst open and three females came barging in, gossiping to one another. They didn't seem to pay her any mind, so Hermione simply glanced at them for a moment before attempting to continue her reading. She figured that everywhere else must have been full. The train had begun to move, so there must have been nowhere else to go besides with her. It wasn't like she owned the booth, it was obviously built to be shared, but oh, how she wished these young women would just be quiet.

"Have you noticed?" chimed the student with an asymmetrical bob and winter green tie. She pushed her hair back slightly and allowed her earrings to dangle in front of her friends who oohed and aahed appreciatively.

"Those are Verona Wittleback's aren't they?!" exclaimed the brown skinned girl across from her.

The young woman with the bob nodded, "Bingo! My father got them for me on our trip to Italy this summer! There are only two pairs in existence."

The redhead beside her raised a brow, "That's nothing, Parkinson, look at my shoes." She slid her heel forward to give them a better view. Even the untrained eye could see that they were rather expensive. "Burgundy dragon-skin pumps, straight from a private Romanian designer," she continued, bragging shamelessly. "Do you think F4 will notice them?"

Her friends sighed as though someone had just mentioned their one true loves and Hermione creased her eyebrows in confusion, suddenly feeling a bit more curious about their conversation.

"It's a shame they don't take this train, but why would they? They're the richest guys in school, what business would they have traveling with the rest of us?"

The other two nodded simultaneously at the Parkinson girl who pouted. "I heard that they went around the world this summer. I'm so jealous! Imagine what it would be like to be invited by Draco Malfoy himself! I would die." Hermione chuckled at the sheer ludicrous nature of their conversation, but they seemed far too invested in themselves to even notice her reactions.

"It's a shame they don't take this train. Potter is on board but I think it's just a goody two shoes act. He could be traveling in style with F4, he's famous enough for it, but he chooses to act like he's some sort of saint, like he's too good for them."

Malfoy? Potter? These were names Hermione had heard before. There wasn't a person in the wizarding world who didn't know those names. One was the richest heir in their world, the other was the boy who had saved it and she would be attending school with them, it was so surreal that she had almost forgotten. But what on earth was this whole F4 deal and why did they have to come to school on a completely different train? It didn't look as though she would get her answer anytime soon, but it seemed rather obnoxious the way these students flaunted their wealth. She feared that she might never fit in. But that wasn't what mattered. She had been transferred to Hogwarts to get the best grades and that was what she would focus on. Her neighbor's conversations began to dwindle off as she became more accustomed to drowning out their voices. Hermione continued her reading and didn't stop until it was just about time to disembark.

It was dark by the time they had finally arrived at the school. Hermione did her best to take it all in, but the sights were rather overwhelming. Hogwarts was intimidating beneath the light of the full moon. It was almost like the castle of an ancient vampire, waiting to strike upon innocent victims. It was even scarier because she felt like she had no one. She was lost within the crowd of students, who seemed to know perfectly where they belonged, passing her by and not giving her the faintest clue where she should be.

"Firs' years! Firs' years! This way!" She heard a large booming voice call from the head of the train platform. The witch turned quickly and the largest man she'd ever seen in her entire life came into view, calling the youngest students to him. "Oh, righ', Hermione Granger!" He called out as well, as though he'd just remembered. He was looking into his large, burly hand and sounding out her name as if he'd scribbled it there as a side note. "Hermione Granger and firs' years! This way! Follah me!"

Hermione ran towards the towering figure and stepped to the front of the line. "Either yer one tall firs' year, or I reckon yer Hermione." He said with the warmest smile she'd ever been greeted with in her entire life, she nodded and smiled back. It was nice to see a friendly face, especially one as large as his. He could challenge all the snarkiness she'd witnessed all on his own.

"Look jus' as bright as they said you were. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts. Now normally, you'd be ridin' in those there carriages," the giant continued, bending down slightly and pointing in the direction that the students her age were headed in, "But you, yer special. You still need to be sorted like the rest of the new 'uns." He winked at her before rising once more to address the younger students. "We'll be going across the lake, stick together! Watch yer step! And keep yer hands and legs inside the boat at all times. Loads o' horrible creatures just waiting in the water to eat yer skin straight off yer bones!"

Hermione followed closely behind. The trip across the lake had been just as beautiful as she always imagined it. Their lanterns created an eery glow across the black still waters and the stars glittered so bright in the night sky, she thought she could touch them. As they entered through the large stone doors, Hermione traveled up a grandiose staircase, where they met a stern looking old woman in glittering robes who called herself professor McGonagall. The professor explained several things before allowing them into The Great Hall, where immediately, Hermione felt as though all eyes were on her. She had never had to walk across a room feeling so uncomfortable before in her entire life. The stares were so distracting she just barely got to appreciate the ceiling which had been bewitched to mimic the night sky. And it wasn't as though they were staring at her group, no, it was more specific than that. Hermione must have stuck out like a sore thumb, not only was she clearly older than the rest but this was a major milestone. She was the first student that had ever been transferred into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since it had been established and to throw a cherry on top, she was a muggle-born. It felt as though every eye was being held upon her. She could lock eyes with every student there if she so pleased. Every student... but one...

High above their peers, just below the staff, sat a table of four boys, each wearing a different color, one for each house it seemed, but none wearing the school uniform. At the end of the table, sat a rather handsome platinum blonde, his hair was slicked back and he was wearing a black suit with a green silk tie. He gazed at her with a smirk that made her feel uneasy inside. She knew then and there that he was Draco Malfoy, she'd seen pictures of him before in the Prophet. The boys beside him must have been the rest of the infamous F4. Hermione found herself unable to look back at the young man and her eyes scanned the length of his table, where all the boys seemed to be studying her, except the one at the end with the brown hair in the yellow turtleneck. He was the only one Hermione could look at without feeling like she was going to fall over. Perhaps it was because he couldn't be bothered to stare at her. It was almost as though he wasn't even in the same room as everyone else, lost in his own thoughts, waiting for this whole thing to be over and done with. Hermione grew curious as she gazed at him, but she also felt at ease. He gave her something to focus on and helped her to ignore all the stares in her direction. He made her lose her train of thought and completely forget where she was...

"Hermione Granger!" The young girl was pulled from her stupor when her name was called. Professor McGonagall stood before her, face tight as she gripped the top of a tattered, old, pointed hat. Hermione shook her head quickly and stepped forward, swallowing loudly. She could feel the eyes burning through her skin and hear the whispered words. "Transferred... mudblood... genius... commoner..." they said.

The muggle-born witch, climbed the stairs and sat upon the stool at the center of the hall. She gazed down at her soon to be fellow classmates and was finally able to see the layout of the room. Each house was sat at a different table and she would join one of them once the hat made his decision. She had read about the sorting ceremony before, so none of this came as a surprise to her. With her grades, anyone would assume that Ravenclaw would be her house, but there was really no way of knowing in the end. It was up to the sorting hat and what he saw within you. Naturally, the first thing he noticed was how smart she was, but then something strange happened.

"I see a fire inside you, you're braver than you think, and more stubborn than I've ever seen before. I believe you'd fit best in... GRYFFINDOR!" Although she could hear him the whole time, Hermione knew the end was the only part he'd actually said out loud. The Gryffindor table broke into applause and she smiled, stepping from the stool and making her way to their table, next to a girl with long, wavy, dirty blonde hair.

It wasn't long before the entire sorting was over, each house obtained a pretty much even amount of students, the speeches were given and she was welcomed. Finally, food appeared upon the tables and everyone began to tuck in. "So you're Hermione Granger?" asked the girl beside her, she had pretty blue eyes and a Welsh accent. Hermione smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah..."

The girl held out her hand for a shake, "I'm Lavender Brown, you're welcome to call me Lavender, or just Brown, whatever you'd like really. What about you?"

Hermione laughed and took her hand, "Hermione is fine, some people call me 'Mione."

Lavender nodded her head and drank a sip from her glass of pumpkin juice. "I hear you're really smart, no one's ever been transferred in before, you must be somethin' special. That's good, you'll get us house points with your good grades. Slytherin usually gets the most. No one beats Draco Malfoy, of course. No one wants to."

Hermione swallowed the bit of food she had been chewing. "That's Malfoy, right?" she asked, referring to the separate table. "The one up there in the green tie?"

Lavender nodded her head, "Hmhm. He and F4 do everything together. They don't have to wear the uniforms, they get their own dorm, even have private tutors. Draco's father practically owns the school."

Hermione raised a brow in curiosity. "F4?"

The talkative girl looked at her in disbelief. "Don't tell me you don't know about F4..." Lavender said, her eyes widening as the muggle-born shook her head. "They're only the richest boys in school -scratch that, the richest boys in all of the wizarding world. There's Blaise Zabini, he's the thin dark one in the with the red scarf, from Gryffindor that one, and flirty as hell but he seems to like older women the most. Next is Roger Davies from Ravenclaw, he's the smartest of the group but he's also the quickest to throw his fists, we call him the fighter."

Hermione's vision landed on the third young man at the table. He was the one she remembered the most. The only one who hadn't been staring.

"And then we've got Theodore Nott in the yellow jumper, he's from Hufflepuff. Been the best of friends with Malfoy since anyone can remember. Furtive that one, sort of quiet and sticks to himself. I reckon he's the mysterious type. And last and definitely not least, Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Prince. He's the richest of them all and by a lot. I'm sure I don't even have to introduce him. There isn't a girl in this school who wouldn't kill to be on his arm. He's the total package, fetching, ferocious, fearless and the fittest, plus he's the one everybody favours. You'd have to be barking mad not to fancy him. That's why we call them F4. It just seems to fit, don't you think?" Hermione nodded her head, only half listening to what Lavender was saying by this point. She was too busy focusing upon Theodore Nott.

'So that's his name?' she thought to herself. Mysterious didn't even begin to cover it. The young witch couldn't quite explain why, but she felt drawn to the young man in yellow. She watched as he ate his food, seemingly detached from the rest of his group. There was something about his smile, about his movements that set him apart but she wasn't sure what. Hermione couldn't pull her eyes away from him for the rest of the night...

* * *

Classes started the next morning and it didn't take very long for her to get used to her surroundings. Hermione was very adaptive, however, in the few weeks following her transfer she learned quickly that many of the students weren't very nice. In fact, most of them were downright rotten. She found herself being talked down to quite often, which truly made her blood boil. Never in her life had she heard the word commoner so many times. She'd been transferred for her good grades, but she was being treated like she didn't belong there, and sometimes she thought they were right. All the students cared about was flaunting how much money they could spend on clothing and bullying those who couldn't. Hermione had decided it was best to lie low and for the most part it was rather easy. The only person she really spoke to was that Brown girl, and she never seemed to get into any trouble. She was a bit talkative, but the nicest student she'd come across so far. What aggravated her the most were the members of F4. Everyone behaved as though anything they touched turned to pure gold. Malfoy was the worst of the lot, cold and infuriating. The entire school, even the professors seemed to be afraid of he and his friends, who were all no better than he was. However there was one member of F4 that Hermione couldn't help but feel different about. Theodore Nott had stood out to her from the moment she laid eyes on him, but it wasn't until that first morning of classes that she truly fell...

_Hermione huffed as she stomped her way up the stairs. 'How could I be this stupid?! Getting lost on the first day. How does that even happen?!' She screamed at herself mentally. It didn't help in the least bit that the stairs liked to 'change' as Brown had put it. It felt as though she was going in circles and after several steps she was no closer to her Charms class than she had been moments before, in fact it was like she was going backwards. A flight of stairs twisted its way in her direction and snapped itself to the ledge she was standing upon, and she decided it was better to move now than miss her chance. Hermione ascended the stairs quickly, and turned the corner sharply, attempting to find some evidence of her classroom being nearby and finding none. The faint sound of classical music caught her ear however and she found herself drawn to it, moving almost instinctively towards the soothing melody. _

_As she traveled forward, it grew louder in her ears and the witch knew that she was getting closer to the source of the music. A door stood slightly ajar just a few feet in front of her and she walked to it to look through the gap. What she saw was rather astonishing to say the least. The origin of the music was a violin and it was being played by none other than F4 member, Theodore Nott himself. He was dressed in all white, like an angel of God, smiling peacefully as he slid his bow across the strings of the instrument, his body swaying with every upward stroke. Hermione felt butterfly wings flutter in her stomach as she watched him play. His fingers traveled expertly across the violin's dainty neck and his body ebbed serenely against the music's harmonious flow. For a moment she'd lost herself and allowed her pale eyelids to flutter shut, taking in the beauty of his talent..._

_After several seconds the music stopped and Hermione' threw her eyes open in surprise to find that he'd been staring at her, violin and bow held lazily at his sides. She gazed at him for a moment, guilty feelings overwhelming her. It was as though she'd just intruded upon one of his most intimate secrets. She swallowed loudly, "Um...I'm sorry..." the girl finally got out in a choked whisper, regaining her ability to speak. "But I'm lost... I... can't find the Charms classroom...which...way?" Nott didn't say a word in response, he merely pointed to his right with the bow and Hermione ran as fast and as far as she could in that direction without looking back. _

The autumn air was beginning to grow colder and soon the summer sun would simply be a memory of the past. Hermione ate her breakfast slowly with a book propped up in one hand, thoughts of that day still clouding her mind. Her strategy to remain unnoticed was going rather nicely, but the typical routine was beginning to drive her mad. She took a hearty sip of pumpkin juice and nearly choked when a young girl came bursting into the Great Hall.

"It's F4!" The girl screamed at the top of her lungs running back out through the stone doors, with just about every girl in school on her heels. They yelled and squealed in delight as they rampaged their way down the corridor to see the four young men. Hermione rolled her eyes. It was like that every morning. Didn't they get tired of worshiping those stuck up pricks? She sighed and attempted to keep her focus upon the book, but all the commotion was making it rather hard to concentrate. The muggle-born didn't understand why, but she found herself compelled to follow the other girls and boys. Hermione pushed herself up from her bench and made her way out the hall, tiptoeing to get a better view over her fellow peer's heads.

Something seemed to be happening towards the middle of the group but no matter how hard she jumped up, Hermione couldn't see. She wiggled her way through the crowds of taller students, pushing forward, until she was positioned at the center. The young witch brushed her hair out of her face, looking up at Draco Malfoy and the rest of F4. They were the only students in the group not wearing uniforms and appeared rather smug with themselves. Draco smirked as a brave girl Hermione had never seen before walked to him, a bright pink box cradled within her arms. She held the gift out to the Slytherin prince and smiled lovingly.

"This is for you," she croaked out sheepishly and the entire crowd fell silent. Hermione's eyes shifted to Theodore Nott, who seemed to be watching the scene before them in fervent amusement. The muggle-born witch frowned at this, slightly disappointed. What she'd seen the first day still weighed heavily upon her mind. She expected so much better from the boy who wouldn't leave her thoughts.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Draco's silver orbs scanned the length of the young girl before him. He held out his hand, allowing her to place the gift upon his palm and the entire group gasped simultaneously. Whines echoed behind her from disappointed girls whose gifts had often been rejected in the past.

"What is it?" He asked, and the young woman's face lit up.

"It... it's an... um... scarf," she replied swallowing loudly and gesturing about her neck with her hands. "I made it." The young woman seemed rather proud of herself, but her smile soon faltered. Malfoy furrowed his eyebrows and sneered at the gift, laughing at her and shaking his head back and forth.

"Why would I want this?" Draco asked.

"To wipe your arse, of course!" Roger Davies answered from behind him, and everyone but Theodore Nott began to laugh, teasing the young woman for her audacity.

"No... I think even my shit paper is worth more than his garbage," the Slytherin retorted and the box burst into flames within his hands, leaving nothing but ash in its place.

The Parkinson girl let out a relieved sigh and laughed loudly, "Draco only wears designer clothing, deary..." said the witch, patting the other female on her head like a puppy dog. Malfoy grimaced at the soot staining his fingers, and ran them down the side of the young girl's robe, cleaning his hand off unto her clothing, and pushing past her and the rest of the crowd toward the Great Hall, the other members of F4 following closely behind.

Hermione stopped and watched as everyone dissipated, anger boiling within her. She hadn't known the girl he'd rejected, but she didn't understand how anyone could possibly get away with such behavior."Honestly! Who does that jerk think he is? At the very least he could have accepted the gift!" It was such an aggravating thought that someone who acted like a spoiled child could be so important. She turned around quickly and collided violently with another female. Hermione shook her head and apologized, brushing herself off.

"No. Who do you think you are?" The obstacle exclaimed and much to Hermione's surprise, the muggle-born looked up and came face to face with the Parkinson girl and her two friends from the train.

"That's our Draco you're talking about," chimed the redhead, shoving Hermione back. Parkinson placed her hands upon her hips, her stance meant to intimidate.

"And who are you exactly?" Hermione asked staring at them in disbelief.

The pale Slytherin girl rolled her eyes, "Are they sure you're the smartest witch of our age?" She pointed to herself and then to the henchwomen on either side of her. "I'm Pansy, this is Milicent and this is Marietta, remember that and watch what you say around here. You might be new but that's no excuse for stupidity."

Hermione furrowed her brows but ignored their insults and attempted to walk past them, only to be blocked by the three girls. The muggle-born witch frowned and sucked her teeth, rolling her eyes upward to glare at her obstacles. "Excuse me," she said sternly, pushing passed them as they sneered and cackled behind her back.

It was the same thing every single day and it was becoming easier and easier to get sick of how disgusting the Malfoy heir treated everyone. She was lucky enough to only have Potions with him that morning but even then he'd managed to aggravate her. Hermione had never even said a single word to him before and yet he could somehow get on her nerves like no one else she had ever met. Just the way he sat in the front of the class barely paying any attention, yet managing to somehow never get in trouble made her so angry, his mere presence was enough to set her blood boiling.

"Alright class settle down, settle down!" said Slughorn, their potion's professor, stepping to the front of the class once more. "I have the results of your first exam." Most of the class groaned in annoyance, but Hermione was actually looking forward to this. Hearing about her perfect grades made everything seem worth it in the end, the sadness of leaving her friends and family and being alone all just disappeared when her name was called. She knew for a fact that she had answered every question right. Hermione had studied for days on end for this. "Fortunately, most of you did very well, however, there was only one perfect score." Slughorn smiled gently and gazed over his class with his hands clasped over his lap and Hermione sat up straight with pride. His eye fell upon the blonde sitting in front of him and he grinned. "Draco Malfoy, you're once again starting off top of the class! Congrats dear boy!" he shouted causing the whole class to burst into applause. Hermione's mouth fell open and she remained pasted to her chair, not moving a muscle as Slughorn dismissed his students. There was no question about it, she'd been cheated of her perfect score for the sake of keeping Malfoy happy. It crossed her mind to speak to her professor but she was smart enough to know that it wouldn't make a difference. Hermione had seen other students attempt to be treated fairly and fail miserably. But if she deserved the one hundred points shouldn't she fight for it? After several moments, the bushy-haired student released the breath she'd been holding in and quickly threw her books into her bag, running from the classroom as fast as her feet would carry her. Hermione traveled up, up, up to the highest point she could find, jogging past a giant telescope and looking out over the edge of the tower.

"Draco Malfoy! You slime!" Hermione shouted as loud as her vocal chords would allow her. It was something she'd always done from when she was very little. The witch found that it helped her to release her stress. "I bet you pay the teachers for your grades! You think that just because you're rich you can have whatever you want?! Well, I won't allow it! F4 are nothing but scum! Fit, my arse! You're more like disgusting flies! If you ever treat me the way you treat everyone else, you'll be sorry! I'd rather jump off of this astronomy tower than ever bow down to you!"

Her screaming was interrupted when she heard the sound of someone yawning behind her. A figure rose from the ground and sifted through the shadows, sauntering over to her. He had light brown hair and was wearing a white, long sleeved shirt.

"Well, wasn't that entertaining?" Theodore Nott said clapping his hands slowly as he approached her, coming far too close and pinning her against the cold stone wall. Hermione swallowed and looked up into his hazel eyes, worrying at her bottom lip as her heartbeat began to race.

"You didn't...hear that did you...?" She said hopeful that he hadn't caught the more harsh portions of her insults.

"What?" He said with a soft chuckle, "the part where you called us scum? Or was it flies?"

Hermione blushed, brushing her hair behind her ear, wishing that she could melt into the wall behind her at that very moment. "Well that... uhh..." She'd never found herself this tongue tied around anyone in her entire life. Hermione didn't know what it was about Nott that made her feel so uneasy. This was the closest he'd ever been to her, she could see the little golden flecks in his amber orbs.

"For someone so loud, you sure don't know how to stand up for yourself. Oh and just so you know..." He said with a stern voice. "Draco actually earns his grades." His palm fell from it's place upon the wall and he stepped back slowly. The Hufflepuff male turned on his heels and disappeared into the shadows once more, leaving Hermione alone with her own paranoid thoughts. She watched as he exited the room, sliding down the wall, not quite sure what had just happened.

* * *

"You mean he heard you?!" Lavender Brown shouted as they made their way back towards the school from Hogsmeade. Hermione winced and held her index finger over her own lips, attempting to quiet her friend down. "You mean he heard you?" The dirty blonde haired female whispered, repeating her earlier question and Hermione nodded.

"But... it's been a day... I mean, wouldn't he have told Malfoy by now?" The muggle-born shrugged and shook her head.

"I don't know, he seemed pretty mad."

Lavender laughed and spun around,"Theodore Nott getting mad? Not very likely. It doesn't seem like him," she smiled and grasped Hermione's hand swaying it back and forth. "I think you're going to be fine!"Lavender exclaimed in a sing-song voice, spinning about and prancing backwards.

"Woah!" Hermione, tried to grab her friend's hand again to keep her from falling but just wasn't fast enough. The girl fell to the ground with a loud 'thump!' bringing someone else down with her as well. Lavender brushed herself off and stood up quickly turning to apologize to the person she'd fallen on, her eyes growing wide as she took in the sight of Draco Malfoy, rising to his feet and looking rather put off. The rest of F4 was standing behind him, Nott included.

"I'm sorry!" Lavender shouted, trying to dust him off but he shoved her away.

"Don't you know how to look where you're going?!" he yelled at her and she cowered, biting her bottom lip. By now all of the students coming back from Hogsmeade had begun to gather. Hermione looked around at their audience glaring at every one of them.

"I'm sorry..." she repeated more sheepishly.

"Sorry? You think sorry is good enough?! If sorry solved every problem would we need Aurors or Azkaban? Look what you did to my shoes!" Draco shouted once more, motioning to the giant scoff mark across his designer dress shoes.

Lavender lowered her head in shame, "I'm sorry. I'll get them fixed. I'll replace them!"

Malfoy chuckled and glanced at his friends then back at Lavender. "Do you think you have more money than me? As if I couldn't replace them myself. These were wandmade in Milan. How are you going to find these?" Lavender remained silent, there wasn't really anything she could say after that. However, what Malfoy said next was unbelievable and completely unforgivable. "Kiss them," he ordered and everyone gasped. Zabini, Davies and Nott laughed.

Lavender's mouth fell open and she stared at the blonde in disbelief. "What?" she asked.

Malfoy licked his lips, "I said... kiss them."

Nott locked eyes with Hermione and chuckled, shaking his head. She knew what he was doing. He was judging her. Telling her that she was just like the rest of them. Just as scared, just as weak. He was telling her with his eyes that he knew she wasn't going to do a damn thing about this. But he was wrong.

Hermione wasn't sure what had come over her, but this was the last straw. She was tired of seeing Draco Malfoy step all over people and never being told off.

"She said she was sorry, Malfoy! Isn't that enough?!" She shouted and her palms flew over her mouth as soon as the words left her lips. All eyes fell from Lavender to her in an instant. She could suddenly feel her heart beating violently, like it would leap out of her chest, as Malfoy slipped his hands into the pockets of his black suit and swaggered to her. Hermione glared up at the pureblood heir, deciding that it was too late to back out now. Her arms fell to her sides and she balled them into fists, digging her nails into her palms, so deep they could probably draw blood.

Draco towered over her, smirking and scanning the length of her body with stormy grey eyes. "Anyone know who this girl is?" He asked smugly, his head slightly turned to his friends.

"I'm Hermione Granger!" She shouted before anyone could answer, catching his attention once more.

"Ahhh..." Draco whispered nodding. "I was wondering when I'd see you. Though... I was hoping when I did you'd be a bit more... impressive..." He smirked, making her feel violated beneath the weight of his gaze and he stepped closer to her, so that they were mere inches apart. "Look, I know you're new, so you probably don't know what your place is yet. But you will show me proper respect." Hermione scoffed at him and folded her arms over her chest.

"Respect?! Do you even know the meaning of the word? You don't know how to respect anyone! She's my friend! I won't let you speak to her however you want!" Draco laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Friend? You consider her a friend? Alright then," he challenged. "Take her place. You kiss them." Hermione's face flushed a bright red and she looked around her before fixing her eyes back upon the taller male.

"What?" she asked mimicking her friend's disbelief from earlier. Draco sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes, stepping back slightly. "Can't you hear me?" he asked mocking her. "Goodness you really are nothing but a stupid mudblood."

SMACK!

Hermione's palm collided with the side of his face before anyone knew what was happening. Pure adrenaline pumped through her blood, and she ignored everyone's shocked reactions, stepping closer to the spoiled Slytherin Prince, who was standing in front of her as flabbergasted as she had been at his request, his silver eyes were open wide and his cheek was turning a bright red.

"Does she have more money than you?!" She shouted. "Have you ever earned a dollar on your own? You're just a rich spoiled brat, who doesn't know how to do anything for yourself!" For a moment she locked eyes with Nott before turning around to grab Lavender's hand, pulling her forward to push through the crowd and storm off. As soon as they entered the school Lavender pulled away and grabbed Hermione by the shoulder.

"What the bloody hell did you just do?!" She shouted glancing around nervously.

Hermione shook her head, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins so fast she thought her brain was going to explode. "I don't know..." The muggle-born whispered before walking up the stairs and to her dorm.

It was hours before she was finally able to fall asleep that night. But surprisingly when she did it was the calmest slumber she'd ever had in quite a while. She didn't remember a dream, it was blank, as though she'd faded from the world only to come back a few hours later to the faces of her dorm mates staring at her strangely. Hermione furrowed her brows and stood up from her bed, eying them all suspiciously as they backed away from her slowly. "Is there something on my face?" She asked them, rubbing her palms down her cheeks but feeling nothing unusual. The muggle-born opened her drawer and pulled out a hand held mirror, staring into it for a moment. Her face contorted in confusion and she looked up at her classmates, not sure how to explain what she saw in her reflection but knowing it couldn't possibly mean anything good.

Above her head, blood red and spinning, hovered a skull and crossbone medallion.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to leave a review to let me know what you think.**


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